Almost fifty years after admission, Louisiana formally seceded from the union and, for two months afterward and before joining the Confederate Union, Louisiana flew the flag of an independent nation.

As a member of the Confederate States, Louisiana flew the Confederate National Flags from 1861 to 1865.

The official state flag of Louisiana was adopted in 1912, one hundred years after joining the union as the eighteenth state. The flag has a blue background which is intended to symbolize truth, with a white pelican mother feeding her three chicks in a nest. The pelican feeding her young represents the states protection of the people and their land. A white ribbon reads "Union, Justice, and Confidence."